The 2015 iCAP, chapter 11, objective 2 is, "Strengthen and communicate about sustainability outreach programs. Specifically, at least half of the full-time campus staff will be participating in the Certified Green Office Program (CGOP) by FY20." Although the University's activities are a major focus of the Illinois Climate Action Plan (iCAP), activities in the surrounding community are also of importance.
Paper plays a key role in University of Illinois operations. The University is concerned about the future of the world’s forests and the environmental impacts of paper production, such as energy consumption (and associated carbon emissions), water usage, and waste production.
The 2015 iCAP, chapter 9, objective 2 is, "By the end of FY16, increase the size of the Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) to a level commensurate with our aspirational peers, expand the reach of the Fund, and increase the use of Energy Performance Contracting (EPC)." We suggest that the RLF be increased to at least $10
The University has a long history of reducing landfill waste. For many years, campus has utilized the reduce, reuse, recycle practice. University Surplus handles the majority of reuse for physical inventory. F&S Waste Management handles the majority of recycling and oversees the management of waste going to the landfill.
The 2015 iCAP, chapter 5, objective 2 is "Improve the water efficiency of cooling towers by limiting the amount discharged to sewer to less than 20% of water intake for chiller plant towers, and less than 33% for stand-alone building towers, by FY20." The results of the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center’s True Cost of Water Study yielded five action items and two pilot studie
The Red Oak Rain Garden is a public rain garden that soaks up rainwater, enhances the campus and community aesthetic and educational experience, and promotes well-being for everyone who visits.
As the first rain garden on campus, this garden is beautiful and smart. It addresses flooding in an innovative way – by planting an attractive landscape feature that captures and filters stormwater.
The Business Instructional Facility (BIF) was designed for future use of greywater, which is raw (untreated) water. Although the building is fed from the potable water supply, there is separate piping for the urinals and water closets in the building.
Executive Summary
The Illini Energy Dashboard provides clearly visible understandable information data and information to students and staff of selected University buildings describing energy consumption rate (electrical, chilled water and steam) so that users can make educated choices about the way they can affect energy consumption and conservation. The biggest challenge in successfully creating a campus-wide goal of energy reduction is being able to evoke a behavioral change resulting in energy consevation and sustainability efforts.
The 2015 iCAP, chapter 2, objective 4, is "Engage and incentivize the campus community in energy conservation, including a comprehensive energy conservation campaign, with at least 50% of units participating by FY20". As a modern society, we need a change in our every day behavior in order to conserve energy. Doing things like turning off technology for a few hours or shutting off air conditioning or the lights when they aren’t needed are great contributions to conserve energy.
